With the NFL Draft and the unveiling of the evolution of the Dolphins’ logo and uniform less than a week away, there’s another big issue on the minds of Dolphins fans in South Florida: the future of Sun Life Stadium.

The modernization effort of the more than 25-year old facility has been a hot topic, with a tentative public referendum scheduled for the middle of next month. And with plenty of questions being asked, Dolphins owner Steve Ross recently did a series of radio, TV and print interviews to provide answers. In a Q&A with the Miami Herald, he did just that.

When asked why the public should help fund the upgrade, Ross explained that this is about Miami-Dade County, not his football team.

“The public is the one that really benefits. As we disclosed in our financials, we don’t make a lot of money.” Ross continued, “How do you turn that around? By winning football games. And how do you fill your seats? By winning football games. What we’re talking about here won’t really bring any fans in if I’m not winning.”

The modernization, though, would help the city that Ross cares about so deeply.

“This will help bring marquee events. We’re talking about BCS Bowls and Super Bowls and I guarantee we’ll get that. [Events] do want to be in Miami. But you don’t want to give them an excuse not to come to Miami. Right now, there’s an excuse for them not to come to Miami. Why? Because of the facility.”

Bringing in events like the recently announced Guinness International Cup will help bring money into the city. “That’s major for the local economy. It’s economic development. That means jobs. Who’s benefiting? It’s really a public-private partnership,” Ross said.

When asked why he thinks voters will be supportive if in fact the issue does go to referendum, Ross responded that “This is a win-win situation for them and Dade County.”

He continued, “This brings new dollars into Dade County and makes it such that we can bring these marquee games and events there.”

Please Note:
The opinions, analysis and/or speculation expressed by The Finsiders Blog represent those of individual writers, and unless quoted or clearly labeled as such, do not represent the opinions, policies or desires of the Miami Dolphins organization, front office, coaches and executives. Writers' views are formulated independently from any inside information and/or conversation with Dolphins officials, including the coaches and scouts, unless otherwise noted.

Why don’t they just tear that dump down build a new stadium. The stadium is hideous the seats are not orange anymore there peach the teal looks baby blue the whole facility is outdated nasty these upgrades are like having a old hag just lifting the ass up. Fixing the boobs up at the end of the day it’s still a old hag. With this new money they want and the last upgrade they did a few years ago we could of had a new stadium.